


Snow Problem

by UndertaleThingem



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, But that should be a given with Sans involved, Fluff, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, It's mostly skelebro shenanigans, Maybe a little bittersweet, Not Beta Read, Post-Canon, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", but no angst here just fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:39:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8450275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndertaleThingem/pseuds/UndertaleThingem
Summary: A snowstorm blasts the surface, leaving the town mostly buried. Luckily, having lived in Snowdin for years, the skeleton brothers know exactly how to deal with a world covered in ice and snow....right?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I doodled something silly one day, and decided to elaborate a little more in fic form. Meant to be silly, hopefully it's a fun read. Enjoy!

The house popped dully under another gust, and Papyrus eyed the lights as they flickered fitfully. Setting his jaw, he turned his attention to the weather report on the TV, a blaze of pinks and blues searing their way across the radar. Apparently the amount of snow expected was ‘historical’ for this region of the surface, and temperatures were reaching dangerous lows. He pulled the blanket just a bit tighter around himself as if to stave off a chill he couldn’t feel, and glanced down at his brother.

“It sounds like it’s pretty bad out there.”

“yeah,” Sans answered sleepily. “i’m not worried though. we’re used to being… snowed in.”

“Sans!” Papyrus scolded, elbowing him playfully. “You’ve made that same pun almost a dozen times now! It’s time you put it… on ice! Nyeh!”

Sans burst out laughing. “oh my god, good one. nah, jokes aside, as long as we don’t try to go sledding in the middle of that mess we’ll be fine. just gotta wait it out.”

Another gust roared outside, and something hit the roof—a branch, Papyrus reasoned. There were already pictures on the news showing whole trees split in half and bright, ominous arcs leaping from downed power lines. The city plows couldn’t keep up with the snowfall, leaving travelers stranded and rescue services unable to aid them. All in all, Sans’ description of the storm as a ‘mess’ was quite accurate. This was the wildest weather he’d seen since they came to the surface in late summer, and he’d thought thunderstorms were bad.

“Well, first thing in the morning, we’re going out to survey the damage and make sure the hum—Frisk’s okay. I can’t help but worry about them, considering this weather is apparently very dangerous to humans.”

“psh, really paps? they’ve got ultra-mom toriel lookin’ after ‘em. lady’s got fire magic and blankets up to here, the kid’ll be fine. but hey, if you wanna go see ‘em, i’m not complaining. with those snow totals we could make some massive snowmen.”

“Indeed!” Papyrus cheered. “I was just… concerned…”

“yeah, the news always makes things sound super bad. how about we watch somethin’ else,” Sans suggested, reaching for the remote.

“No, this is okay—I don’t want to miss any important updates!” Papyrus countered. “Road conditions, school closures, power outa—”

The TV blinked off, and total darkness swallowed the room. Papyrus was still for a moment, then patted around blindly for his brother’s hand, or a leg, or anything for reassurance. He couldn’t see him, were his eye lights out? Why wasn’t he saying anything, was he even there? Was anything there, was _he_ really there—

A harsh blue-white light blinked on. It was the LED lantern they’d picked up after a thunderstorm, and Sans set it on the floor. Papyrus quickly folded his hands in his lap.

“knew i shoulda grabbed this earlier,” Sans muttered, returning to his spot on the couch. “uh… sorry for leavin’ ya for a bit there, didn’t mean to scare you bro.”

“I wasn’t scared!” Papyrus insisted.

“of course not, heh,” Sans ceded, looking away. “welp. so much for tv. or… pretty much anything else involving electricity.”

“Yes. We’ll… just have to hope for the best! A snowstorm is nothing to the Great Papyrus!”

“and don’t forget his sidekick, the pretty-alright-i-guess sans.”

Papyrus had never heard that one before and cracked up. It was nice to laugh at something, both because for once it wasn’t a snow-themed pun, and because it took his mind off his worries, which he supposed was probably Sans’ true goal. Once his laughter had died down, he thought for a bit. “You know though, the Great Papyrus only has the best at his side! The best brother! The—hmm—Sans the Sensational!”

“don’t you mean _sans_ -sational?”

Papyrus threw a pillow at him, which was handily dodged.

After their laughter died down, they sat in the dark house, listening to the storm howl outside. There’d been times in the Underground when the air pressure would change, and a dull roar would echo from the higher chambers as winds battered the mountain up to its peak. The weather in Snowdin would always change to follow, blanketing the town in a fresh batch of snow or send the temperature of its already chilly air plummeting to levels even the furriest of its folk couldn’t withstand. But here, in the little house they’d gotten on the edge of town, there were only a few inches of wood and insulation separating them from the elements, and Papyrus wondered how humans had lasted so long in such flimsy housing.

Sans crawled onto the couch beside him and patted his knee before he leaned back to doze. Papyrus wasn’t sure how he could sleep in such dire circumstances, but then mentally admonished himself—of course Sans could sleep through anything. The house shuddered under another blast, and Papyrus resolved to keep watch just in case—he was far too anxious to even think about resting, and here his brother was already starting to snore. Incredible. The fact he could stay so calm… well… if Papyrus was perfectly honest, it was reassuring.

He eyed his brother for a moment, then pulled him over to lean against him. There, much better. He draped the blanket over them both, and settled in for a long night.

Sans was awoken by his brother’s laughter, and then shaken into alertness.

“Sans! Sans, oh my god, you have to see this!”

“wh, ok, what’s up?”

He was picked up, carried over, and lifted in front of the open door, and where he should have seen the sidewalk and yard, there was only a grayish-white wall.

“uh… wha… no. no way. it seriously snowed that much?”

“It did indeed brother!” Papyrus answered, spinning him so they faced one another. “I can’t believe it! We have to get out and see what everything looks like, this is an incredible opportunity for adventure! There may even be people stuck in the snow who need our help! We could be heroes Sans!”

“oh man, you mean i gotta break out my sidekick gig already?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“ok, i admit i’m pretty curious too. and, yeah, it looks like a real doozy out there. it’d be pretty awful to leave someone… out in the cold.”

“Sans that pun barely counts.”

“pff, i just woke up, you gotta give me a chance to warm up.”

“Oh my god! One more reason to get out of this house—to escape your endless puns!”

Papyrus set about clearing the door. At first he tried poking the upper layers away, but after little progress and some thought, he summoned a wall of bones and sent them up and out, clearing a nice clean path. Sunlight streamed in bright and clear, and Papyrus squinted against it as he headed up the improvised ramp, his brother only a few steps behind.

The world that greeted them seemed alien. The trees had become strange lobed forms, looking like marble statues bent under their own weight. The snow wasn’t as deep as the amount at the front door had seemed, but the wind had sculpted it upward into peaks that reached the eaves and even the areas that more accurately reflected the snowfall they’d received were easily halfway up the walls. Everything was encased in a gleaming coat of ice, but perhaps heavier than the snow was the silence. Even from their secluded location, at least some traffic was audible most times of day, and there were always birds or insects singing in the warmer months, but now there wasn’t even a breeze to whistle through the frozen world.

It put Sans on edge.

“c’mon bro, let’s see if we can find the road.”

“An excellent suggestion! But! Perhaps! We should, um, prepare a little bit! We need the proper equipment for braving this icy wasteland!” Papyrus suggested. Maybe he was nervous too.

“good call.”

They retreated inside, and Papyrus took out a duffel bag from his room. He dumped the contents—a collection of bones from his favorite battles—into a corner of the room and began stuffing it with a couple of blankets, the lantern, and some food. Sans tossed in a bottle of ketchup for good measure, and actually bothered to put on some shoes that wouldn’t end up collecting clumps of snow like his slippers did. He thought it looked hilarious, but if they’d be doing a lot of walking he didn’t need those dragging him down.

“you wanna check on the kid, right paps?”

“Of course! You read my mind, brother,” Papyrus answered as he shoved a few bottled waters into his bag and zipped it closed. “With even the cell phone service down, I was not able to call and let anyone know we’re alright! They must be worried for us as well, even if that worry is unfounded!”

“heh, yeah. we better get going then. got everything?”

“We are as prepared as it gets, brother! Let us forge ahead and let our friends know a snowstorm can’t keep these skeletons down! Nyeh heh heh heh!”

Papyrus led the charge out, while Sans made sure their door was closed. Once they were on the surface, the crust of ice made walking surprisingly easy for monsters who were mostly bone. It crunched faintly under their shoes as they passed half-buried trees; at one point Papyrus nearly tripped over the top of a sunken sapling, but he was quick to recover and brushed the incident off. After all, one couldn’t live in Snowdin without learning how to walk on all manner of frozen surfaces, and the brothers had a few tricks up their sleeves besides all the practice they’d had.

The surface had a few tricks of its own.

Papyrus was about to announce they had to be nearing the road when he heard a crackle and his brother utter a soft ‘oof’ behind him. He turned to look, and was puzzled when he didn’t see him—at least, not right away. He glanced around, and wasn’t sure whether to laugh or worry as he found his brother had become much shorter than usual.

Sans had sunk into the snow up to his armpits, with little more than his head and arms left to poke out. His shoulders were arched up and nearly touched his skull with how he held himself in place, and it looked incredibly uncomfortable. His jacket had bunched up around his neck and obscured the bottom half of his face, making his shocked expression all the more obvious. They locked eyes, and the ridiculousness of the situation hit them simultaneously.

“Oh my god Sans,” Papyrus uttered between laughs, “you have to be more careful!”

“i, have _snow_ idea, how this happened,” Sans replied, sounding breathless—though between laughing and his awkward position it wasn’t hard to imagine why.

“Sans!! This isn’t the time to be making puns!” Papyrus insisted, even as he still laughed. “We have to find the human and make sure they’re okay!”

“yeah, it’ll be… _ice_ to see them after all this,” Sans continued, and his brother only groaned.

“I think that’s enough dillydallying,” Papyrus sighed after a moment’s pause to catch his breath. “Let us continue our trek unabated!”

Sans squirmed a bit, but blanched when he felt himself sink a little further. “uh. i’d love to, but gravity’s got other plans.”

“Gravity. Ugh,” Papyrus grumbled. “You two have an unhealthy relationship, you know!”

“pff. what can i say? it’s the law of attraction,” Sans replied, already chuckling at his own joke. At least he was until the ice he rested on crackled a little more. “but, uh, guess i’m gonna have to cancel this date. a little help bro?”

“I have to bail you out, as always! You’re lucky you have the greatest wingman in the world! Nyeh heh!”

“heh, yep. what a guy, always lookin’ out for me.”

Sans raised a hand, and Papyrus happily obliged to pluck him out in a fine shower of snow and ice chunks. He set him down gently, and couldn’t help another chuckle while Sans brushed himself off and straightened his jacket out. What a story they’d have for Frisk and Toriel!

The brothers continued, if a little more cautiously, until they finally reached a swath that looked like the road; a few rugged tracks had already carved their way through, and there was the distant buzz of chainsaws and snow blowers as crews worked to free the town of its icy prison. Papyrus kept an eye out for ways they could help; he marked dangerous power lines with cyan-tinted bones to keep people away, and Sans offered their water to a worn-looking group of firefighters who’d been called out when someone had tried using a space heater too close to their curtains. No one was hurt, but Papyrus couldn’t help nerves wringing his soul as the full extent of the damage sank in.

But he knew Frisk and Toriel would be okay, and in fact might be out helping people as well, and the thought was more than enough to keep his worries at bay. Heck, even Sans was out, _doing things_ , and winter had been especially rough on him—he’d explained once it reminded him too much of being Underground, and though Papyrus had loved living in Snowdin he’d had to agree. At least now there was a wide, vibrant blue sky overhead to remind them.

It was mid-afternoon by the time the two skeletons reached Toriel’s cottage, and sure enough it looked like someone had melted, rather than shoveled, her sidewalks and driveway clean. Though Sans was all up and ready to knock on the door, Papyrus leapt forward and beat him to it and he almost fell into the house when it finally opened under his fist. Toriel stepped back in surprise, but welcomed them both inside.

“My friends! I was not expecting you, but I am so pleased to see you here!” she exclaimed, drawing them both into a hug. “Frisk is out playing with the neighbor children, they should be in soon. Come in, would you like something hot to drink? Oho… I would not want either of you to be… chilled to the bone!”

Papyrus pulled away from her and headed for the door, which only made her laugh harder. That was the point anyway; after witnessing one too many times where he had berated Sans for a pun, she had tried to intervene, and the brothers had to explain it was all in good fun—Papyrus didn’t actually hate puns, he just enjoyed acting like it most of the time, and Sans’ were often truly awful. It was all part of a bigger joke, and now she was in on it too.

“I’m going to ignore your joke in favor of asking for some hot cocoa!” Papyrus said cheerfully, and Toriel nodded as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Very well. Anything for you, Sans?”

“that sounds pretty good, actually,” he replied warmly. “we, uh, had a bit of an adventure getting out here.”

“I am sure,” Toriel commented as they moved to the kitchen. “It was rather frightening to watch the reports overnight. We are lucky little more happened on our side of town, but did you lose power as well?”

“Indeed we did! It was quite startling,” Papyrus answered, setting the duffel bag down. “Luckily we were prepared! Which is something I am very good at, nyeh heh heh!”

Toriel smiled sweetly as she filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove. “I am glad you are both alright. If I may admit, I think I was more nervous than Frisk. It had been so long since I knew real weather, I had forgotten…”

A wistful look filled her eyes, and Sans patted her arm.

“hey, wait ‘til you hear what happened on me an’ paps’ little hike. i wanna wait until the kid gets back, it’s hilarious.”

“Then I cannot wait to hear it, even though I shall,” Toriel chuckled as she set two steaming mugs at the table, and retrieved a cup of tea she’d already made for herself. The three sat at the table and quietly enjoyed one another’s company for a bit until the doorbell rang. Toriel rose to answer it, and moments later a small, thoroughly-bundled Frisk had shuffled into the kitchen behind her and waved to the brothers with a mitted hand. Papyrus abandoned his cocoa to help them shed the (dutifully excessive) layers of winter garb, and with his help they had soon joined everyone else.

“Frisk! Were you having fun in this freakishly deep snow?” Papyrus asked eagerly, and the child nodded.

‘ _We made tunnels everywhere, it was so cool,_ ’ they signed, a little stiffly with fingers that hadn’t quite thawed. ‘ _We even pretended to be monsters. I punched out the wall that made our barrier._ ’

“Geez Frisk, if you wanted to visit the Underground again you could just ask,” Papyrus teased, and they giggled softly.

‘ _It was the other kids’ idea actually, they wanted a reenactment._ ’

“I am glad you all had such fun,” Toriel said, tousling her child’s hat-styled hair. “I trust you all stayed safe and did not play near any fallen trees or precariously dangling icicles?”

Frisk wrinkled their nose. ‘ _I used a really big icicle to be Undyne, does that count?_ ’

Toriel chuckled, and Papyrus loved the image that conveyed—tiny Frisk, wielding an icicle taller than they were to imitate the very fierce and incredible former captain of the Royal Guard—absolutely adorable. He beamed at them while Toriel passed them their own mug, and they all settled in.

“Now brothers, you were saying something about your journey to reach us. You seem in good spirits now, but you were not in distress, were you?” Toriel asked, and Papyrus shook his head.

“No! In fact I fear Sans would have gotten too cozy and proceed to hibernate the rest of the winter,” Papyrus joked, and his brother chuckled.

“he’s not wrong.”

“Nyeh! You see? This is what I live with!” Papyrus continued, gesturing at him, and Toriel and Frisk giggled. “Luckily it was simply too interesting outside, and we both agreed it would be good to visit you both and make sure you were okay… as well as let you know we were okay! Our plan was flawless! And executed perfectly! You can expect nothing less from the Great Papyrus!”

“Truly you are great, my friend,” Toriel cooed, “but there is more to this story, is there not? Something, I am told, some would call ‘hilarious’.”

“Oh yes! It had us in stitches,” Papyrus assured with a grin. “Sans, since it mostly involves you, would you care to start?”

“heh, alright. it might not be as funny if you weren’t there, but i like to think i’m good at stories, so here goes. we hadn’t been walking too long yet, and it’s all quiet and peaceful…”

Frisk sat up a little straighter in anticipation. This was going to be good.


End file.
